A Fond Farewell
by OwlPost
Summary: A story about saying goodbye to a friend, who didn't survive the final battle. A story about Harry Potter.


A Farewell:

Madam Pomphrey looked over the group of students, staff, and memers of the Order assembled in the hospital wing. She regretted having to tell them that one of their friends, and to some, family won't be returning to the fold.

"I am sorry to say this," she started, "but Harry sustained too many injuries during the battle to be able to recover. I've done everything I can for him, but the injuries are too severe. The most I can do now is try to make him as comfortable as possible. He is in a coma right now, and may not wake up again before he passes away. I feel that he may not live beyond tomorrow."

The onlookers looked at her, sullen and heartbroken. They had expected this, but had hoped that she could perform a miracle and save him. Some, like Ron & Hermione, were in tears. The Weasley family were also saddened by the news of their adopted son and brother not recovering from his injuries. Most of the DA members also were there to support the Order members as well and they weren't able to hold back their sadness at the news.

Even Snape had trouble remaining composed. He had started to come around and now didn't treat the others with contempt. He had helped, in the end, saving many wizards in the battle. He was unable to save Harry in the end, and he regretted it immensely now.

Many had died that day. Most of the Order was still intact, but many who had come to help fight Voldemont didn't return.

Albus Dumbledore, who had remained silent for a few minutes after the nurse had finished giving the news, decided that something needed to be done in order to help his friends deal with the news. He recalled a muggle tradition that the friends of the person who is not far from death would come over, one by one, and tell him or her how much that person meant to them.

"Friends," he started. "I propose that we all sit down for a few minutes and recall the good things about Harry. We all, I'm sure, have many good things to say about him. There is an old traditon from the muggle world that might be of use here."

Looking around, he saw a hint of speculation as to what this might be. Albus dearly loved all of them, as if they were his own.

"In about an hour, one by one, we'll all go over to his bedside and talk to him. He may be in a coma, but many people believe that they can still hear people talking to them. It might help his transition into the next life become easier for him and for us if we give him the reassurance that everything will be ok for us. Feel free to take your time.

A/N: The next few chapters will entail the friends answering the request.

Thank you for reading and I hope you return when the next chapter is up.

A/N: Thanks to those who have taken time to honor me by viewing this story. After about a month of reading other stories, I thought I'd try my hand at creating one of my own. Some of the current relationships mentioned in this chapter and future ones come from the other stories that I have enjoyed reading.

Bear with me. I am working full time as well as completing an internship for my degree. So updates may not be regular as hoped for, but I will try to keep the delays to 2 weeks.

Thanks for reading and on with Chapter 2

**Neville & Ginny**

Neville Longbottom was the first to get up. He went towards the curtain surrounding the bed and went around it. He saw for the first time what Harry looked like. He was shocked at the amount of harm that was inflicted.

He took a few minutes to gather his thoughts together and began.

"Hi Harry. I wanted to take a few minutes and thank you for your friendship throughout the past few years. You were the first person who believed that I could be more than just the son of parents who were incurable after Voldemont attacked them. You saw past my faults and encouraged me to work on eliminating them. You gave me courage and strength to join you in the fight to eliminate Voldemont and his followers to give all the wizarding and muggle world the chance at a normal life free from fear. We succeeded! I just wish you would be around to enjoy it. But I know that you will be home with your parents soon, and with Sirius. I will never forget you. Goodbye."

Neville's girlfriend, Ginny, was waiting for him as he came back around the curtain.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"I will be," he replied. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, can you wait nearby?"

"Sure. Take your time."

Approaching the bed where Harry laid, Ginny fought to hold back the tears. At one time, she had a crush on him. That feeling had gone away over the years, but she considered him part of her extended family, along with the other Weasley family members. In everything but name and law, he was a brother.

"When I had first met you, you were asking Mother how to get through the Platform to get to the Hogwart's Express. I was still a year off from attending Hogwart's. My first year, you saved me from that horrible diary written long ago by Tom Riddle, the muggle name for Voldemont. I was and am forever grateful that you and Dumbledore held that information from public knowledge. I don't know what would have happened to me otherwise." She paused for a bit to compose herself.

"You always treated me like a real person, not just the only girl in a family of 7 children. You are like a brother to me. You ARE a brother to me! You were always there for me.

"Don't worry about the rest of us, Harry. We'll be ok. Just have a peaceful journey."

Neville was waiting for her as she came back. They started walking away, but saw some comfortable chairs and couches that had appeared nearby and sat down in one of the couches. At that point, Ginny started tearing up and couldn't hold back anymore. Neville took her into his arms and held her tight, with tears slowly falling from his own eyes. "There will never be another like him," he thought.

Gred and Forge.

The twins of the Weasley family were next to come behind the curtain to pay their respects. As usual with these two, they had a tendency to finish each other's sentences.

Fred began, "Hi Harry. We both just wanted to take a moment and wish you safe travel on your journey into the next plane of existance.

You are the best friend of Ronnykins, and so that made you family to us," continued George. "You saw hope in our idea of opening a joke shop where no one else did. You gave us the financial backing, " Fred piped in, "Even though you didn't have to, " "to start putting together the resources and building to get things started. We will never forget your kindness and support for our ideas."

Fred continued, "Even though you were a little leery of our inventions, you always enjoyed a good laugh, especially with the swamp. Wonder if Filch ever got rid of that. We were glad to be of service to you in putting together a battle plan for Voldie and glad that you were able to get rid of him."

And George finished, "Know that we will never forget you Harry, nor will we let our customers forget what you did for both our world and the Muggle world. We are thinking of opening some more stores and are planning to have a special area dedicated to your memory.

Both said "Safe travels and Thank you" and left.

The not-so-loony Luna

Luna Lovegood came around next and, in her own way, said her goodbye.

"Harry, you were the first one I had met outside my family that took an interest in what I had to say. Everyone else, including Ron & Hermione had thought of me as a loony. I wasn't one who was worth any interest. You saw differently. You allowed me to be a part of Dumbledore's Army and to be able to use a certain bug to warn the world that you weren't off your rocker. Your friendship meant the world to me and I will not soon forget it. I will remember you always and forever. Farewell."

**Remus Lupin**

Remus Lupin came around next. After Sirius had vanished behind the veil in the attack in the Ministries, he had become Harry's Godfather and legal guardian. He considered Harry the son he never had and was glad for the opportunity to spend what little time he had with him. It had enabled him to even find friendship and love with Tonks, who was another member of the Order. She was the only serious girlfriend he had had and she didn't care about the ailment that he had.

"Harry, I know you think that you were a burden to those of us who had become your protectors in this war, but you were wrong. We all wanted to help you fulfill your destiny and rid us of the evil that had taken over the world. Even though, in the end, it cost you, know that we all cared about you and are grateful to you for giving us the chance to continue our lives. The ultimate gift that anyone could give is to lay down their lives for another. That was what made you different from Voldemont and one of the things that caused his downfall. You had the capacity for love and sacrifice that he couldn't even begin to understand.

I also owe you a deep thanks. I am no longer the lonely person who you met in your third year. You enabled me to find love with another person who saw past my faults, which I thought impossible. I will be forever grateful for that. Thanks, Harry.

I'll miss you, but don't worry about me. Take care, my son."

**Snape**

With a slow, decisive walk, Professor Snape came around the curtains.

"Potter", he began with his usual snarl. "I know some of your friends have already been here and I know you didn't really consider me anything more than an annoyance, but you need to understand something. I had to keep my cover under the prying eyes of the Dark Lord's spies.

"It enabled me to get inside information to help Dumbledore with trying to stave off the attacks and utimately help you win the war."

He paused, considering his next words.

"I am glad I was able to help, in the end, to defeat the Dark Lord by your side. After Dumbledore explained the situation to you and you offered to put aside your dislike of me for the better good, I am glad I got a chance to change things between us.

"Headmaster has even offered me the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, something I had always wanted, until now. After working so long in the Potions field, I have decided to continue in that department.

"You helped me to throw away my pain from growing up & now, I have seen the other side of things. I have missed a lot through the years, and I'll never get that back to fix the wrongs. But now, I get to make a new life, free of the pain and torture. I have you to thank for that.

"Best wishes on your final journey, Potter." Snape said and left.

**Ron & Hermione**

Since Ron had finally worked up the courage to exercise his feelings and ask Hermione for a date, they have become almost inseparable. They both worked together to help Harry work out the details and training in order for him to defeat Voldemont. Neither of them realized that the final battle would cost them their best friend.

"Mione, do you need me to go with you?" Ron asked.

"No, I think I'll be ok. Just be there when I come back, ok?" Hermione said, wiping her eyes and then walking towards the curtain standing between them and their best friend.

Coming around the curtain, Hermione was shocked and saddened to see the condition Harry was in. She couldn't believe the scars and bruises that covered his body.

She almost ran back out, but got the courage to stay and say what she knew needed to be said.

"The first time I met you & Ron on the train during the first year, you were the bright-eyed 11 year old, learning more and more about the world you were forced to leave and live with those wreched excuse for family members. I was amazed that someone could survive the treatment that you had to endure and be able to come out of it as well as you did.

"I really didn't come to know you better until you & Ron helped me out of a jam with that Troll. I was busy trying to become the bookworm, as you guys often referred to me as. Since then, I learned to stop the "always study" motto and have some fun. We certainly did have some fun through the years, despite all the dealings with Voldemont.

"You were always supportive of me, and allowed me to help you gain the knowledge and training to defeat Voldemont.

"I will miss you Harry, but know that I will be ok. Since Ron came to his senses and I came to mine, I couldn't have imagined my life would be this good now. Goodbye, Harry."

Hermione came outside the curtain and noticed Ron standing there, waiting for her.

"Go ahead, Ron. He was/is your best friend. He's mine too. I'm ok, " she said, trying to fake a smile so he wouldn't worry. But inside, she was torn up. She hoped he didn't see the tears trying to drop.

"Ok, " Ron said, "But as long as you're ok."

"Go."

"Hi Harry, " Ron said, coming around the curtain.

"Our friendship is one of the best things that has happened to me. From growing up with 5 older brothers and 1 younger sister, I always felt the brunt of the twins jokes and had to deal with the older ones always doing things better than I could.

"But, meeting you the first time on the train, I realized that I could finally have someone I could consider a friend and could enjoy spending time with. Little did I know what that would turn out meaning. But I have no regrets and have enjoyed the fun times together.

"You helped me learn several charms and defense spells that I'm sure none of the others even came close to knowing. It definitely helped me at your side during the battle.

"I just wish things would have turned out differently. Know this, buddy. I will always and forever remember you and consider you my best friend. I even gained the best girlfriend out of it, so I can't complain.

"Take care, Harry." Ron finally said and left.

A/N: More to come.

Ron came out from behind the curtain and looked around for Hermione. He saw her in the corner near the windows overlooking the Quittich field. She was sitting down against the wall curled up with her hands around her knees. Her head was lowered down.

Ron felt so bad for his friend, knowing how much they had been through together since their 1st year. He slowly went over to her, and sat down next to her. She hadn't noticed him yet.

He just sat there for a few minutes, waiting for her to notice him beside her. She, after a few minutes, looked up and saw him.

"Why, Ron?" she began. "Why did it have to be him? That damn prophesy stated that one cannot live while the other does, but why did both have to lose in the end? I don't understand." Tears had began to fall from her eyes.

Ron had thought she was ok, but obviously she hadn't been. He moved until he was facing her, and said, "I don't know Hermione, I really don't know. I wish it hadn't happened this way. My best friend is gone. There was nothing I could do in order to save him. I felt so helpless. But he wouldn't want us to suffer like this. He wanted so badly to give the world something that it hadn't had for a long time, happiness. We can't dwell on the past or losing him like this. He would want us to celebrate the new freedom from evil that we have now.

"He loved us both, Hermione. The ultimate love is given when one lays down his life for a friend. (paraphrased from the Bible). The least we can do with his gift is to continue living our lives and celebrate his life."

"Ron, I never knew you could be so thoughtful and so smart."

"HEY!" Ron exclaimed. "Just because I don't always use my noggin for anything else than just to keep my eyes from falling down, doesn't..."

"I'm just kidding, calm down, " She smiled, which was something he finally realized, was something that he liked more than ever. He was happy that he could give her something positive to make her smile, even at his own expense.

"Ron, please hold me."

They continued to hold each other while the last one in the room noticed something between them and smiled. Finally, he thought. Maybe something good will come out of this. Then he went behind the curtain and stood still for a few minutes.

**Hagrid**

Hagrid, coming around to say his last respects to the person who had grown up from the baby he had dropped off years ago to PITA family members that treated him like he was a slave.

(A/N. Forgive me folks, I am not good at writing Hagrid's speech, so I'm just going to do it in the normal way.)

"Hi Harry, " Hagrid begain. "I'm not much on these types of things, so I'll skip right to the point. Thank you for your friendship, getting me out of prison during the Chamber incident. Thank you for saving Buckbeak. Thank you for everything. Madame Olympe also extends her thanks for helping us get together.

"A little side note, my boy. It seems that there may be a budding relationship developing between your 2 best friends that may blossom further. I hope this new side of their relationship will ease their pain.

"Safe travels, my friend."

**Professor Dumbledore**

After coming around the curtain, the Headmaster began...

"Well, Harry. I had never in my wildest dreams about finally ridding the world of Voldemont thought that it would come at a huge price. I want you to know how much I regret the things that I had witheld from you during most of your life. Maybe if I had told you earlier, things might have been different.

But, although I can't undo anything now, I can and will wish you well on your final journey. I know without a doubt that your proud parents James & Lily will be waiting to welcome you with open arms, along with the other "good" member of the Marauders, Sirius. Please tell them that we miss them down here."

Minerva came around to stand next to him. Dumbledore smiled at her.

"Harry, " she began. "One of the things we never got to tell you before is that we are husband and wife. We had married before you were born, but had to keep it a secret because of what was to come.

"Thank you for bringing us back together, something we hadn't thought possible all those years ago. You became all that I had hoped for and more, since you first told Malfoy that you could find your own friends. I am most proud of you, more than any other student I've taught through the years.

Thank you for your gift of life, Harry. We will always remember you."

At that, they turned around to walk away, but something made them turn around. Neither one, in the future, could figure out what caused them to turn back around, but they did.

There, on his face, was a hint of a smile. Then, one last rise and fall of his chest, then that was the last. The machines around him started giving a long tone. Minerva reached over and shut off the machines, and they turned around and, for the last time, walked away.

"It's over, " Dumbledore said. "He has gone to join his parents and friends who have gone before. He is, at last, at peace."

Dumbledore proceeded to tell them that his funeral will be held tomorrow, before everyone goes home for the summer break. He also stated that they needed to stick around after the funeral to go over the final details of Harry's will.

Most everyone, realizing that then it would finally sink in that their friend and, to Molly & Arthur, son in all that mattered, except in law, has passed on. Tears that had been holding back, finally came forth and consumed them for quite a while afterwards.

The next day, the field around the lake that had been used during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, had become filled with people coming to the funeral. It seemed almost that the entire wizarding world had come. Dumbledore had to enlarge the area with a charm used for occasions like this, enough to accommodate all of them.

Harry had told Dumbledore that if he hadn't survived, he wished to be buried on the grounds of Hogwart's, his home.

After the service and the burial, those closed to Harry waited until all the others had gone home and followed Dumbledore for something, that they had been dreading, the reading of The Last Will & Testament of Harry J. Potter.

A/N: Well, everyone. Finally, the story has ended. I hope that everyone will follow the link below, or look up the story, written by "TheLuckless" The Last Will & Testament of Harry J. Potter at Before I had finished this story, I contacted the author and asked if I could link my story with his for a continuation. I had read it while working on this story and thought that it would make a perfect follow-up. I felt that I couldn't do any better than he did. Please consider reading his story as well.

Thank you for your support.

OwlPost

End Note:

http/ Last Will & Testament of Harry J. Potter by TheLuckless


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